Harris Voices: Milvia Rodriguez, Program Administrator (Undergraduate) on Black Joy on the South Side

As a part of Harris Public Policy’s celebration of Black History Month, we asked what Black joy means to members of the Harris Community. These are their opinions and perspectives, informed by their own life experiences and worldviews (and do not necessarily reflect the views of Harris).

Some say, “Chicago is cold and windy,” and this is true for many months of the year. However, when summer comes, Southside Chicago shines. Summer is when all that beautiful melanin fills the streets with a light that is so powerfully bright. To me, Southside Chicago summers are Black Joy – graduation celebrations with Black students and their proud families, jazz at Harper Court on 53rd, brunch at Peach’s on King Drive, house music and salsa at the 31st Street Beach Restaurant, picnics at Promontory Point and Oakwood Beach, Black kids at the Farmer’s Market on 61st Street, Southside pride at DuSable, casual chatter with neighbors on Drexel Boulevard, and much more.

Southside Chicago is Black. There is something about the history and culture of Black Chicagoans in these south- and southwest-of-the-loop neighborhoods that connects newcomers like me to this place, beyond what the eyes can see. Often, it is just a feeling, something as simple as “the nod” when you pass by someone on the sidewalk. That nod that only Black people understand, anywhere in the world. That nod is here, on the Southside, and to this Afro-Latina with a Cuban accent, that nod is pure Black Joy.

Black Joy is shared. I hear my Black Chicago brothers and sisters whisper in my ears, “You are one of us, join the party.”

About Milvia Rodriguez

Milvia Rodriguez is the Program Administrator for the Public Policy Studies program at The College of The University of Chicago.

Milvia is also one of the recipients of the prestigious University of Chicago’s Marlene F. Richman Award for Excellence and Dedication in Service to Students. Recipients are nominated by students, and the award honors one staff person at the University each year.